Read Online Ruthless: Mob Boss Book One by Michelle St. James - Free Book Online Page B

of the problem. A man with his appetites needed release on a regular basis. A very regular basis. It had been too long. He would call his favorite escort service tonight, let off some steam.
    He stood, dropping the beads into the top drawer of his desk. He walked to the window and looked out over the leafy suburban street lined with brownstones.
    Carlo’s daughter was just like everything else he did—all business. Learning about her last night had been an interesting diversion, but it was time for something more substantial. Nico had put the word out that he had something belonging to Carlo. He’d made it known that if Carlo wished its safe return, he would contact Nico within the week.
    And yet they still hadn’t heard from the bastard.
    Word on the street was that he was in hiding, and no one seemed to know where the man was holed up. Nico was tired of waiting. And he was doubly tired of babysitting Carlo’s daughter.
    He turned to grab his suit jacket. He was slipping it on when he met Luca in the stairwell, holding a paper bag and heading for the basement.
    “Morning,” Nico said. “What are you up to?”
    “Taking breakfast to Angelica.”
    Nico raised his eyebrows. “Angelica?”
    Luca shrugged. “It doesn’t seem right to keep calling her ‘the girl’.”
    Was Luca Cassano blushing? Nico didn’t know whether to be impressed or annoyed by Angel’s ability to incite protectiveness in one of his most trusted men.
    When they got to the basement, Nico put a hand on Luca’s shoulder. “Why don’t you give that to me?”
    Luca hesitated, before handing over the bag of food.
    Nico clapped the other man’s shoulder. “I’m not going to hurt her,” he said. “For now.”
    “It’s nothing to me,” Luca said.
    Nico didn’t make a big deal of the lie. Luca could hold his own with any man in Nico’s army, but unlike some, he had a conscience. Hurting people was something he only did out of necessity, and he’d been one of the fiercest advocates for Nico’s sweeping changes of the family.
    Nico appreciated Luca’s moral restraint. Violence was best administered by those who truly understood its consequences.
    “We still haven’t heard anything from Carlo. I’m going to put some heat on Angel—Angelica. See if she might know where he’s hiding.”
    “Got it.” If Luca noticed Nico’s slip, he didn’t say anything about it. “Want help?”
    “I can handle it.”
    “I’m going to get in a workout then,” Luca said. “Unless you need me for something else.”
    “I’m good,” Nico said, already turning to make his way down the hall.
    He continued to the closed door and withdrew a set of keys from his jacket pocket, then unlocked the door and stepped inside. Angel bolted up from the bed. He’d obviously woken her up.
    He shut the door behind him. No need to lock it; Angel wasn’t going anywhere he didn’t want her to go.
    “Good morning,” he said, putting the food on the desk. “I’ve brought you breakfast.”
    Keeping his voice professional wasn’t easy. She was sleepy and rumpled, her hair a mass of tousled waves around her delicate face. Sex hair. He banished the thought as soon as it hit him, but it was too late. He already felt the stirring of desire in his blood.
    She didn’t say anything, and when he stepped closer, he knew immediately that something was wrong. There were purple smudges under her eyes, and she was at least two shades paler than she’d been in his apartment. Then he saw her blouse, the one he’d left for her last night, and the two safety pins barely keeping it closed.
    He was taking in the rest of her, trying to stop the tide of rage building inside him, when his gaze stopped on her arm. It was ringed with deep violet, clearly left by someone’s hand.
    “What happened?”
    She flinched, and he realized his voice had gone cold. It was the voice he used for the worst of his business associates, the ones Nico didn’t think twice about hurting. He hadn’t